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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · wake · row · game · wound · spell · hand · temple

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. game — a match
  5. spell — letters
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. spell — magic
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — help
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. spell — a short time
  17. row — to paddle
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. fork — in a road
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. hand — in cards
  22. row — a line
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com